Car-coupling



(No Model v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W C. E. MOORE & J. DOYLE.

UAR COUPLING.

Patented June 14,1898.

Z, VENTOHJ ATTORNEY.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 G. E. MOORE & J. DOYLE.

GAR COUPLING.

No. 605,737. Patented June 14,1898.

% ffik AOW.

fizz 64 .A TTORNE).

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. MOORE AND :JOHN DOYLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,737, dated June 14,1898.

Application filed August 12, 1897. Serial No. 647,967. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES E. MOORE and JOHN DOYLE, citizens of theUnited.

States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook, State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Oouplings; and we hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure l is a top plan view of a coupler. embodyingour invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, partly in section.Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is abottom View, partly in section.

Fig. 5 is a detached V ew of the ball socket or bracket whereby thecoupler is attached to the car, looking in the direction of the arrow,Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of theball socket or bracket and thespring-ball,

taken on the line y 3], Fig. 5, looking down or in the direction of thearrow onFig. 5. Fig.

7 is a detached view of the spring-ball, and

Fig. 8 is a detached view of one of the congex follower-disks formingpart of the springall.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

Our invention relates to the construction of car-couplers ingeneral, buthas been more especially devised for use in and to meet the requirementsof street-railway-car service. In general construction it is allied tothe class of couplers commonly termed vertical couplers, or that classwherein the coupling is made by the interlocking or engagement ofcorrespondingly-shaped jaws on opposite couplers, the engagement anddisengagement of said jaws being provided for by lateral movement ofeither the jaws or the stems thereof. p

The several objects of our invention are, first, to obviate or eliminate'all lost motion in the couplers incident to their present constructionand the wear thereon arising from friction of the couplerson each otherand on their attachments; second, to permit the necessary and preventanyexcessive vertical play or sag of the'couplerfand, third, to obviate anyirregular wear in the connection feature of our invention.

, between the coupler and the bracket or socket whereby it is attachedor secured to the car.

To take up the lost motion caused by fric- Ttion and wear, we providethe coupler-jaw with a tapering drop-fork whereby when the jaws of twocouplers are engaged or coupled up the same are forced togetherlaterally and held in place bya constant pressure, and such constructionor its equivalent embodies one In order to obviate the irregular wear orformation of shoulders in the socket connection or attachment of thecoupler, we provide and combine with said coupler and its bracket orsocket a resilient or spring ball, and such a construction or itsequivalent embodies a third feature of our invention.

There are other minor features of invention, all as will'hereinaftermore fully appear.

We will now proceed to describe our invention more fully, so that othersskilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings, A indicates one coupler, having the jaw a andjaw-recess a, adapted to couple up or engage with its counterparts inthe opposed coupler, and B B indicate the stems of the respectiveengaging couplers. At the bottom of the jaw-recess a, which receives thejaw'of the engaging coupler, is a pered or inclined (see Fig. 3)or, whatis the equivalent thereof, the sides of the jaws inclined, or both, tocause the forks F to pinch the jaws'andexert a constant lateral andinward pressure on the jaws a a to force them together-when the couplingis made.

The stem B is preferably one formed of two longitudinally separableserrated sections Z) I), each of which may be provided with a fixed bolt12 and each of which may be slotted for substantially half its length,as at W, for the reception of the bolt fixed onthe engaging half of thestem, by meansof which or other suitable fastening devices thelongitudinal sections 1) b may be adjusted to increase or diminish thelength of the stem 13, as maybe required.

The stem 13 terminates in a tail-bolt Z), which passes through aresilient or yielding ball C, arranged in a socket or bracket D, bymeans of which the coupler-stem is secured to the car-body and whichpermits of all the lateral movement of stem B required for coupling andfor curving.

The resilient or spring ball C is preferably composed of a couple ofconvex perforated disks or follower-plates c c and an interposedcoil-spring 0 through which the tail-bolt Z)" of the stem 13 passes andfrom which it is prevented from escaping by means of a sleeve Z1 andjam-nuts b or their equivalents.

The bracket or socket D has a spherical cavity for the reception of thespring-ball C and is slotted front and back, as at d d, for the passageof the tail-bolt b and to permit of the lateral motion of the stem 13.It is also provided with a suitable base-plate or perforated flange d'wherebyit maybe secured to the car-body, and below with a horizontallyand forwardly projecting flange or ledge (1 which affords a support toand restricts the sag of coupler-stem B.

In order to introduce the convex followerplates 0 c and the spring 0within the cavity of the bracket-socket, a suitable opening (I is leftin the base-plate (2 which opening is closed by the application of thebracket to the bottom of the car.

The construction of the coupler being substantially such as hereinbeforepointed out, it will be attached to the car by first inserting theconvex follower-plates c 0 into the socket of bracket D through theopening (1' and then inserting and arranging the coiled spring c betweensaid plates, after which the tail-bolt I) of stem 13 may be passedthrough the disks 0 c and spring 0 the sleeve b placed on the tail-boltb and confined by jam-nuts Z1, and the bracket D finally secured to thecarbottom by means of suitable bolts.

'hen a coupling is made by the engagement of the jaws of opposingcouplers, the forks F F are allowed to drop into the position shown inFigs. 1 and 2 and exert a constant lateral and inward pressure upon thejaws to force and hold them together and prevent any movement, so thatthe coupling becomes in operation a continuous rigid bar having its endspivotally connected with the coupled cars in such manner as to permit ofrestricted resilient longitudinal and lateral movements, which willobviate all lost motion and irregular or unequal wear of either thecouplers or their connections.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Pat ent, is-

1. A coupler, having a jaw, a jaw-recess, a ledge at the bottom of thejaw-recess, and a fork arranged to straddle the jaw-recess and confinethe jaw of a counterpart coupler; substantially as and for the purposesspecified.

2. A coupler having a jaw, a jaw-recess, and a tapering fork arranged tostraddle the j aw-recess and pinch the jaw of a counterpart couplerwhereby the jaws are forced together laterally; substantiallyasandforthe purposes specified.

3. A coupler having a jaw, a jaw-recess, a ledge at the bottom of thejaw-recess, and a tapering fork arranged to straddle the jawrecess andconfine the jaw of a counterpart coupler, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

4-. The combination with a coupler-stem comprised oflongitudinally-adjustable sections, of a resilient ball, and a ballsocket or bracket whereby the stem is attached to the car, substantiallyas and for the purposes specified.

5. The combination, with a coupler-stem, of a resilient ball, and aball-socket; substantially'as and for the purposes specified.

6. The combination with a coupler-stem, of convex follower-disks, aninterposed spring, and a suitable pocket for said disks and spring;substantially as and for the purposes specified.

'7. The combination with a coupler-stem of a resilient ball, and abracket having a ballsoeket and provided with a horizontally-pro jectingledge in advance of the ball-socket, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

8. The combination with a coupler having a jaw and a jaw-recess providedat its bottom with a ledge to support the jaw of a counterpart coupler,of a drop-fork arranged to straddle the jaw-recess and confine the jawof the counterpart coupler, and a horizontally-projecting ledge arrangedto support the stem of the coupler adjacent to its point of attachmentto the car; substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signaturcs, in presence of twowitnesses, this 9th day of August, 1807.

CHARLES E. MOORE. JOHN DOYLE.

lVitnesses:

Gno. O. NAGLE, (J. L. COMPTON.

